Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Starting All Over Again

My new home

The last time I set up an apartment as a single man, I was 24. Just back from a two year stint in the Peace Corps, I rented an apartment down the way from where my mother and sister were living in Albuquerque, NM, 50 years ago. I can vaguely remember setting it up, being very poor and trying to find gainful employment in the 1970 recession. I am sure it was very barebones as I ate many of meals at "home," bought a bed, a chair and had not much else.

The first Target run

This time around, well, I am stunned by what it takes to live alone! Who designed this manner of living? Most of my expenses have come from setting up a kitchen! I like to cook but I'm discovering every room in the house needs things! I have made a variety of runs to Target and Big Lots, Kmart, even The Dollar Store and as each room gets further along in getting set up, I find that I need to get more things, so many "more" things I need to make lists! What you forget is that each room needs many of the same things; trash cans and they all can't be the same, Kleenex, hand soap, towels, paper towel holders, placemats ... the list goes on and on.

My condo, while not all that large is for a single man more than big enough. It has a living room, a dining area, two bedrooms, two baths, a huge walk in closet and storage all over the place. I just discovered a closet in the hallway! There is an interesting covered patio with access from either the kitchen or the master bedroom, bigger than the room I currently live in. Every room has a lighted fan with a handy movable remote no less, even the "patio" area just outside the kitchen.

Kitchen ... now there is another word for money pit. I like to cook so started off simply ... plates, cups, glasses, silverware. But then I realized I needed pots and pans, and knives and then the list got bigger and bigger. Friends gave me a crock pot and a microwave luckily but I needed a coffee maker, larger than the tiny one I currently have in my room, mixing utensils, a wine cork screw opener, beer opener, whisk for eggs, even casserole dishes. OMG! I am sure every woman reading this is getting a big laugh out of this. They KNOW! Their husbands are clueless! The drawers are now full of things as are the cabinets. All I can say, is I better cook. The investment, even if most of it came from Big Lots is impressive. The one thing I can't find is a good cast iron skillet. I make a mean Chinese soup that requires one and so the hunt continues. I'm sure Palm Springs and environs has a complete kitchen store. Many men like to cook and out there usually want the best!

After I get what little I have here out there, furnishing comes next. Currently I have a very comfortable bar height table and chairs from Kmart of all places. At $199.99 with a table that could seat 6 and four chairs I couldn't resist. The neighbors came over to put it together for me and were amazed it was so well designed and sturdy. Those chairs and table are rock solid.

Living Room View

Is it worth it? Well, see for yourself. This is the view I get every morning from my living room windows. As the sun rises the huge mountain range west of Palm Springs turns salmon colored. It is simply stunning. During the day its rather bland, a collection of tans, fawns and grey but IS impressive in its size and scope climbing to over 13,000 ft. The mountains are actually a threesome, one higher than the one in front of it. We already had a dusting of snow and even rain!

Am I glad I am moving? Yes. It gives me a chance to start all over again in a new place and continue to do the things I enjoy ... create, cook, travel (the Palm Springs airport gets you all over the country and thus the world) and make new friends. Something is always going on here and it feels like a small town. With the winter snowbirds you meet people from all over. Here its "live and let live."

If you have suggestions on how I can set up an even better condo, please feel free to comment. Friends are going to take me consignment shopping. You get to choose from a wide variety of items being sold after an owner either moves, dies or remodels ... a kind of passion out here in the desert!

Thank you for reading my blog. Please check earlier ones ... all have a focus on design, the designs of our world that we live by! Happy Holidays.